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Thu, May 17, 2012

The Nutmeg Verses

The Nutmeg Verses

Free port politics

Posted on 16 May 2012 - 08:17pm
Last updated on 16 May 2012 - 09:54pm

Himanshu Bhatt

EYEBROWS were raised this week when news broke that the Barisan Nasional is proposing that Penang’s free port status be restored – 43 years after it had been stripped away.

Our little-known war camp

Posted on 9 May 2012 - 08:29pm
Last updated on 9 May 2012 - 10:39pm

Himanshu Bhatt

MENTION Camp Gubir to the average Malaysian and you will likely draw a blank.

Democratising our legislative houses

Posted on 2 May 2012 - 09:36pm

Himanshu Bhatt

IN an unprecedented move, a proposal has been mooted in the Penang State Assembly for its Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to be chaired by a member of the Opposition.

Though clearly intended to promote greater transparency and democracy in the workings of the assembly, legislative houses in Malaysia, either at state level or in Parliament, have not been known to have an oppositio

Making every drop count

Posted on 26 April 2012 - 04:58am

Himanshu Bhatt

THERE was a bit of relief among keen observers of Penang's water supply condition recently when it was announced that the state had for the first time in nine years recorded a drop in water consumption among its households.

Most people may not be aware, but the issue of water usage and how it can be sustainably managed is among the chief concerns for the authorities here.

A national seismic design standard

Posted on 19 April 2012 - 01:20am

Himanshu Bhatt

SOMETIME last month, this column ran a piece headlined "Are we ready for an earthquake?", in the wake of a quake on March 5 measuring 4.9 on the Richer scale in eastern Sumatra, a mere 150km away from Peninsular Malaysia.

As though cryptically pressing home the point, a level 3.2 quake then smacked Mersing, Johor on March 29.

Provisions for human trafficking victims lacking

Posted on 11 April 2012 - 09:20pm
Last updated on 11 April 2012 - 10:11pm

Himanshu Bhatt

YOU may remember news broke out last month of 42 women from Vietnam who were stranded in a house in Pulau Tikus, Penang after their visas expired. The women who were brought to Malaysia by an agent for employment found themselves instead shut in the house without their passports, while reportedly surviving mostly on rice that they were given.

Bizarre tale of a tree house

Posted on 4 April 2012 - 08:15pm
Last updated on 4 April 2012 - 10:42pm

Himanshu Bhatt

ABOUT ten years ago, wayfarers and residents around the popular Tanjung Bungah beach began to notice a giant house being built on top of a public tree along the shorefront. The bizarre three-storey wooden structure certainly stood out, resting on the tall tree, but was constructed illegally without a permit from the local authority.

Medical tourism’s illegal hotels

Posted on 28 March 2012 - 08:03pm
Last updated on 28 March 2012 - 09:04pm

Himanshu Bhatt

FOR the last few years, residents of several private apartment complexes in Penang have been forced to bear with thousands of strange “guests” who come and go with their loads of baggage.

Deadly pesticides in our farms

Posted on 21 March 2012 - 07:36pm
Last updated on 21 March 2012 - 09:01pm

Himanshu Bhatt

THERE was an extremely disturbing environmental tragedy last month in the pristine natural setting of Cameron Highlands.

Locals noticed hundreds of dead fish floating in one of the most important rivers there, the Sungai Terla. The sight caused quite a bit of anxiety.

Are we ready for an earthquake?

Posted on 8 March 2012 - 04:57am

Himanshu Bhatt

AT ABOUT 2.55pm on Monday, I was among thousands of people who happened to be in high-rise buildings along the west coast of peninsular Malaysia when the floors suddenly swayed.

An earthquake measuring 4.9 on the Richter scale had hit an area near Hamparan Perak in Sumatra Utara sending powerful quivers across the Malacca Strait.